Final four announced in assistant police chief search

By
Bianca Montes
July 3, 2014 at 2:03 a.m.Updated July 4, 2014 at 2:04 a.m.

The search to hire an assistant chief for the Victoria Police Department is down to four applicants, according to a news release issued Thursday.

Thirty-one applicants applied for the job, which was left vacant in April when Roy Boyd retired from the position. Boyd went on to become the chief deputy at the Victoria County Sheriff's Office.

The final four applicants include Port Lavaca Police Chief James Martinez, Godley Police Department Chief James Healy, Capt. Robert Coleman of the Larimer County (Colo.) Sheriff's Office and Capt. Michael Wallace of the Palm Beach County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office.

"I was looking for someone I thought would be a good fit," Chief J.J. Craig said. "To come from outside of Victoria creates challenges, and I tried to look for the best fit from that perspective; these four rose to the top."

Martinez began his career with the Victoria Police Department in 1994, and he left in 2005 to assume command at the Victoria College Police Academy. He was appointed Port Lavaca police chief in April 2012.

Healy has spent the past five years as the chief of police at the Godley Police Department. Godley is in northwestern Johnson County in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. His career began with the Grand Prairie Police Department and spanned from 1984 to 1998, when he left to take on a supervisor position with the city of Kennedale. Before entering his current position, Healy worked in Afghanistan, where he oversaw more than 500 U.S. officers.

Coleman began his police career in 1978 as a detention officer in Paris, Texas, eventually moving to Colorado and rising through the ranks to become a Larimer County Sheriff's Office captain.

Wallace worked for three years between 1984 and 1987 with the New York Police Department before joining the Juno Beach Police Department in Florida. After a year with the department, he joined the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. His current rank is captain.

Final interviews will begin in Victoria on July 14, when each applicant will meet with the police chief, city manager, key city department stakeholders and a department committee, Craig said.

A decision and announcement is expected to be made in the first week of August.